(Photo: person laying on a dock sunbathing with her dog)
You want peace, quiet, and relaxation at the cottage.
You don’t want to worry about your dog charging every person and dog who walks by your property (so embarrassing!)
You don’t want a dog who races to the end of the dock to bark at every single boat.
You don’t want a dog who runs away for hours at a time and comes back with porcupine quills stick in her tongue and throat.
You don’t want a dog who “rescues” the neighbour’s children out of the lake either.
So, how do we get a peaceful cottage dog?
Your relationship begins at home, not at the cottage.
Does your dog listen to your commands inside your home? If not, that is a great place to start. It’s never too late to hold your dog accountable for commands that she knows. It’s also never too late to teach your dog new commands that can help you live in harmony together (think crate, place, heel.)
A calm cottage vacation begins with a calm dog in the family home (Photo: a brown and white pitbull mix laying on a carpet underneath a table)
The next step is packing up to leave for the cottage. Is this chaos? Is there lots of rushing and yelling? Sprinting kids? An anxious dog who is pacing everywhere, trying to herd the children, jumping up on people? This has to stop. Pack up calmly and you’ll see a much calmer dog. You’ll feel amazing too, by the way. It’s a ripple effect and it is glorious. If you need to use the crate, placework, or have a leash on your dog as you load the car, there’s nothing wrong with that (as long as you’ve worked to create calm associations to crate, place, and by your side.) Think of these three zones as “zen zones.”
Another option, if you haven’t done this work yet: a sit stay or a down stay. Be sure to work on those ahead of time. Practice makes progress.
The car ride matters. How you load your dog into your car matters. The vibe while you’re driving matters. How you exit the car matters. Check out my Instagram Story Highlights to learn more at Go Beyond Dog Training.
How you load into the car matters. The dog’s state of mind during the drive matters. How you exit the car matters. (Photo: a calm Labrador Retriever riding in a car with his head out the window)
At the cottage, there’s lots of little things you can do to help your dog understand the rules, boundaries, and limits.
This week, we’re going to cover five tips to help improve life at the cottage for yourself, your family, and your dog. There’s so many things to help, that there will be five more tips next week.
Number one: Engage with your dog. A lot of people arrive to the cottage, let the dog run wild, and then deal with the damage later on (at the cost of the dog’s health and welfare — think sprayed by a skunk, hit by a car/boat, in a dog fight, face full of porcupine quills, etc.)
Engage with your dog by:
-playing fetch on land
-playing fetch in the water
-practicing recall using a longline
-using their mealtimes as obedience training and trick time
-teaching them something new (maybe this is your first time doing placework at the cottage. That’s adding something new. Have fun with it.)
-play hide and seek (dogs are amazing at this game)
-set up agility equipment and teach your dog how to use it (or just do “forest agility” using logs and tree stumps to play around on.)
By providing direction for your dog, she will be guided into activities that are safe, fun, and approved by you.
Engage with your dog and have fun doing it! (Photo: Golden Retriever jumps off a dock into a lake)
Number two:
Placework. Teach your pup to love place. Place is a zen zone for your dog. A place to switch off and relax. A place to nap. When taught correctly, your dog should know to rest, not guard the property, while on his cot. Cots can be used inside and outside to create a calm environment for all.
Placework gives your dog the job of calm (Photo: German Shepherd mix napping)
Number three:
Thresholds. If your dog currently goes crashing through doors ahead of the humans (cottage door, gate, car door, etc,) he is in charge. Slow down and pay attention to thresholds. Your dog should wait for permission before going in and out of doors.
Number four:
If your dog is barking at passersby and visitors because he’s fearful, advocate for his space. Do not let people rush into his intimate space if it makes him uncomfortable. Use crate and place to keep your pup safe around all of these new (and often drunk and excitable) people.
Advocate for your dog’s needs (Photo: pair of feet standing beneath the word NO painted in yellow on a street,)
Number five:
Walk your dog. You’re working so hard at home to have a dog who doesn’t pull on leash, don’t undo it all while at the cottage. Dogs need consistent leadership, rules, and boundaries. Walking your dog on leash at the cottage ensures one-on-one bonding time, as well as makes sure that your dog can’t tune you out.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog post for five more tips to help you and your family enjoy cottage time with your dog.
Wishing you a safe and fun long weekend in Cottage Country (and anywhere else you may be.)
Alyssa
Photos by: Riley Crawford @ricrawfo ( person laying on a dock sunbathing with her dog), Mike Burke
@themikeburke (a brown and white pitbull mix laying on a carpet underneath a table,) Emerson Peters
@spemble (a calm Labrador Retriever riding in a car with his head out the window,) Nima Sarram
@nima_sarram (Golden Retriever jumps off a dock into a lake,) engin akyurt
@enginakyurt (German Shepherd mix napping), Jon Tyson
@jontyson (pair of feet standing beneath the word NO painted in yellow on a street,)